Comparison of semi-quantitative endotracheal aspirates to quantitative non-bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage in diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Abstract

Semi-quantitative cultures of endotracheal aspirate are poorly concordant with quantitative cultures obtained via non-bronchoscopic BAL. Although the performance of endotracheal aspirate improves when antibiotic treatment is considered, guiding therapy on the basis of semi-quantitative cultures may still result in failure to identify potentially multiple-drug-resistant pathogens, and would also tend to promote excessive antibiotic usage. Our data support the use of quantitative cultures in diagnosing VAP.